In a supermarket or food market, fruits and vegetables are often displayed in bulk, possibly in piles of loose items. Consumers must then take a bag from a nearby source and pick and bag their own produce. The most common form of these produce bags are cylindrical rolls of plastic bags, mounted horizontally or vertically on a shaft. The bags have perforated separation lines between them. Separation is accomplished by grabbing the end bag with one hand, anchoring the next bag or the roll with the other hand, and pulling. Unfortunately, this not only separates the bag from the roll, but can deform or even tear the bag. Sometimes, consumers will attempt to simply jerk the bag from the roll, without holding the adjacent bag. This, too, can damage the bag or simply reel out the roll. After any bag separation, the end of the next bag can be difficult to find or grab as it may lie flat on the surface of the roll.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide an improved dispenser for a continuous web of articles.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a dispenser with improved means for easily separating articles from a continuous web with one-handed operation and retaining the next article in an easily accessible position.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved means for preventing free-wheeling of the continuous web during dispensing.
It is a further object of the invention that the dispenser be economical and simple to manufacture.